Renewed Purpose
by Mariposa Indigo
Summary: Chapters 3 and 4 are finished! All in one file until fanfiction.net allows chapters. For those of you just tuning in: A sequel to Lyn's "The White Flag". Zim is without a reason to live, and by default, so is Dib. So what will become of them...?


Renewed Purpose  
Chapter One: Closing The Door And Shutting The Window  


_Disclaimer: This is one of those fics that's going to suck, but won't go away. Thanks massively to lyn for giving me permission to write this sequel...it's chaptered, but I promise I won't leave you hanging like a certain Road to El Dorado fic. ::grins:: And I'll even try to finish that before the summer ends._  
  
It had been three weeks, and he still felt miserable. The house, once his base of operations, his temporary home on "this stink-shell of a planet", was all he had. He would spend days sitting and thinking, GIR chirping merrily in the background as it raided the refrigerator or watched some insipid form of Earthling entertainment. Once or twice, the little robot had tried to break its master from his session of brooding, but a few threats about something called "car parts" and it had finally left Zim alone.  
"I don't understand it," he finally muttered, speaking aloud for the first time in days. "Where did I go wrong? What did I do that can't be fixed?" He was usually so blindly enthusiastic, so filled with the spirit of the planet he had been raised on. So hopeful that he had even "quit" his own banishment to be a part of it again. "I was an Irken!" he remembered, with a mixture of pain and disbelief. "I was an Invader!"   
He frowned. "Was."  
"I love you, Master!" GIR suddenly squeaked, making another attempt to be loyal and comforting. This time, Zim grumbled softly and allowed the sorry excuse for scrap metal to wrap him in a hug. A piece of robot trash and a useless home base. Perfect.  
He had conveniently forgotten the one other person he had left a mark on.  
  
Dib breathed a sigh of relief as the bell rang. Another school day finally ended. Another day watching the house.  
It had been three weeks since the day Zim had given up entirely. Three long, empty weeks as he had studied every note he had made, wondering what could have caused the surrender of his former enemy. The day they sat together on the steps of Zim's home had been as empty and silent as their lives were becoming. Then, Dib had dared to ask why he had just given up.  
  
The solumn, depressed Zim had suddenly been on his feet. "Why do you want to know?!"  
"What? I just asked-"  
"You want our super-secret technology, don't you! You still want to capture me and use me for experiments! Well, I won't let that happen! We're stronger than any pathetic monkey pit-"  
"Zim, what use would it be to turn in a defenseless extraterrestrial, who doesn't mean any harm anymore?" He had tried to reguard the hysterical alien with a level of calm, but the frenzied accusations of his emerald ex-rival were slowly working him up.  
"Who knows how your minds work, you ball of filth? GIR, target the lawn gnomes to-"  
"Ball of filth?!"  
"You heard me, dirt worm!" The ruby red eyes were staring at him menacingly. "Leave and take your stink carcass with you, or else!"  
GIR, who had apparently decided to be useful, had started up the lawn gnomes, which were now targeting Dib with surprising accuracy.  
"You little puke-green...I don't care how depressed you are! I might as well turn you in right now!"  
"Fine! I'll contact the Armada! They'll destroy you and this pathetic spitwad in a second!"  
"Fine!!"  
"FINE!"  
Zim had slammed the door just as Dib had turned to go. But he knew instantly that Zim would never call the Armada. And he was almost positive Zim knew Dib would never turn him in.  
He had been by the house every day after school since then. It had never left, and Zim never came out.  
  


Chapter Two: I Can See Clearly Now...  


_Chapter Two is finally here! :P Nothing to warn you about except lots and lots of angst, really. I don't own these characters, in case Jhonen Vasquez is uncool enough as to sue otherwise. And as a random wishful thinking thing, in case we have any artists here ^_^, I'd love to have a picture of the scene in the rain from this chapter. Or...really, any picture from this fic. But anyway. g Enjoy!_  
  
As Dib exited the Skool, it barely registered in his mind that it was pouring rain, torrential against the Skool roof as lightning wildly flashed at sporadic moments. He only half-noticed, his mind going back to a brief, almost amusing episode with water balloons not too long ago.  
The good old days, he thought with a smirk, the irony not at all lost on him.  
"Move it, freak!"  
He rolled his eyes at his ever-present opressors, unsheathing his umbrella and starting for Zim's house.  
  
Dib had barely walked halfway before he found him.  
Zim stood on the path of the sidewalk, undisguised, verdant skin gleaming with the raindrops that poured onto every inch of his Irkan version of flesh. The round rubies of his eyes were shut tightly, teeth gritted in a mixture of agony and concentration. His body trembled as he was pelted with the rain, steam seeming to rise off of him as the deadly combination was made. If it weren't for his shivers and wimpers, he might as well have been a statue.  
Dib swore under his breath, rushing to his former rival with eyes widened in disbelief and pain.   
"What are you doing?!"  
The momentary pause seemed like an eternity before Zim responded.   
"Oh. Hello, Dib." As if they were about to discuss the weather. The tremors in the alien's voice betrayed him, or Dib might have thought the Irkan wasn't phazed at all.  
"You could die! You don't know what a storm like this can do to you!"  
Zim appeared to not hear for a moment, a crash of lightning giving a momentary, eerie light to his features. Then, he responded, just as emotionless. "I have been reading about this human quality...depression. It sounds appropriate at the moment. I thought I would try it."  
"Zim..." This was a moment Dib had never fathomed, never even thought remotely possible, and suddenly, he wanted his rival to survive, even if he started setting his sights on Earth again the very next day. No creature could ever deserve this.  
"After the first fifteen minutes, it was almost bearable," Zim continued, as he slowly opened his eyes to look at the human. The crimson orbs were pained, desperate. Dib wondered, briefly, if Irkens could cry. Fallen from grace in a species of friendless conquerors, Zim wondered the same.  
Without stopping to think, rival took rival's arm, pulling the alien to him under the umbrella.   
"You're not going to let yourself die like this, Zim! Not today, not tomorrow, not as a friend, not as an enemy, not *ever* like this, do you understand me?!"  
Zim shivered with a sudden, unbearable cold, the water droplets still clinging insistantly to his skin, as he leaned weakly against Dib's chest. It was all he took to keep his legs from buckling. "Ridiculous Earth climate...wet droppy thingies don't fall from the sky on Irk, everything's nice and *dry* there..."  
"Why did you do this to yourself? Why did you give up? *Why*?"  
For once, Zim didn't avoid an answer, although his response wasn't direct. He turned his almost desperate eyes up to his rival, his voice still quavering slightly. "...Do you think I could have done it, Dib? Do you think I could have won?"  
As shocked as he was at the words, Dib managed a reassuring smile. "I didn't fight to waste my time, Zim. Without me there, you could have done it in a week. In a day."  
The emerald Invader gave a weak cackle of triumph. "Ha! My enemies fear me. I'll show them...I'll show them all..."  
Exhausted and pained, he collapsed fully into Dib's arms.  


  
Chapter Three: Playing The Game  


_Part Three! Much shorter than Part Two took! n_n ...Well, ok, not that much. ^_^() Gir and Gaz actually exist in this chapter, and are the source for a lot of dialogue. I'm pretty good at Gaz stuff, but being a complete nut job where Gir's concerned is difficult for my whole 'serious, angst-ridden fics' nature, so lemme know how I did. ^_^ Enjoy!_  
  
Zim drifted in and out of blackness, hands clenched and unclenching, the images he saw during consciousness still blurry and unfocused. The furious pain, once soothing to him in its own twisted way, rocked through his veins, agonizing. Even as his strength began to grow, his memories after collapsing in Dib's arms were only faint ones, that came and went.  
  
"Drink it, Zim. It'll help you feel better, I promise..."  
"I need not your Earth poison, human."  
"Are you going to try to live, or not?!"  
"You seem to have taken that into your own hands, haven't you, Dib?"  
In the end, he had swallowed the accursed liquid, salty and vaguely chicken-flavored. His insides seemed to warm with it, and his fever broke later that night.  
  
"Just explain to me...you were afraid of failure, so you felt like you had to do *that* to yourself? What kind of a place is Irk, anyway?"  
"Do not mock my planet's morals, human. The Tallest stress perseverance. Strength, pride. When one is among his people, backed by the Armada and made strong as a member of the elite Invaders, they are unstoppable!...."  
"...And when they turn their backs?"  
"It is a rare occasion, if it ever happens." His voice caught at that, a foolish weakness that Dib must have noticed. The human already seemed to have guessed, in spite of Zim's desperate attempts to seem removed from the subject.   
"But I would gather that he would have nothing left...no more of a reason to survive."  
  
Now he lay somewhere between sleep and waking again, catching the first faint strains of Dib's familiar voice, and the rather mocking sound of Gaz's retorts.   
"...really should find GIR for him, too, if I do anything at all today, so can you just give Zim his food at around one or so? I should be back as soon as I can."  
"I'd be wasting precious Game Slave time, Dib," Gaz retorted, and Zim could catch the biting nature of her tone instantly. "Besides, since when did you care if he lived or died, anyway?"  
"He..." Dib cast a quick look towards Zim's bed, not noticing his charge's half-awake state before turning back to his sister. "He isn't a *threat* anymore, Gaz. I can't just let him die when he'd sooner hurt himself than Earth..."  
"But are you really sure about that?" Gaz responded with a smirk. "Maybe it's another conspiracy...maybe you're the one who can't play this game right, after all."  
"Game?! Gaz, this is *serious*, it's-"  
"The fate of mankind. The future of the world." The words were spoken as if she had heard them a thousand times before. "If you ask me, it's a stupid fight, anyway. What kind of a game makes you lose when you win? Losers. Both of you."  
His footsteps were hard and slow as he turned away from her. "I'm going out."  
"What time do I feed him? About one, you said?"  
"Sure, that's-" He paused, suddenly, realizing her sudden interest. "That's fine."  
"Just think about what I said, *ok*?"   
The slamming of a door, and Zim drifted back into slumber. But his dreams weren't quite as easy as before.  
  


*~*~*  


  
"You're Dib, right? Master went to create havoc! He'll be back in a little sometime!" GIR was chirping, as the little bot lead Dib into the house and plopped him down on the couch before the boy could even manage a protest. "Would you like some licorice whirlysticks?"  
"I think I'll pass."  
"Mmm...ok! More-for-me!"   
Patience, brain, patience. Do not submit to the lunacy, Dib thought to himself, as GIR scarfed down the offered treat in one bite and produced a toy fire engine from places unknown, making buzzing noises as it waved the toy around in the air.  
"Her name is Suzie! Shake hands!" The engine was suddenly under Dib's nose.  
Inhaling deeply, Dib gently pushed the toy, and the hand that held it, away from his face as he studied the little robot with a look of quickly-developing pity. "Why give Zim such a defective aide?..." he wondered aloud.  
GIR sniffled, straightening up in an attempt to retain dignity. "Master says I'm advanced!"  
"Never mind." He could see exactly why.  
"GIR..." he murmured, a sudden realization flooding through him, as his true kinship with Zim was made clear. They were both unwanted, untouchable, castaways from worlds that could be both dark and glorious. "GIR, something's happened to your master."  
"What?" The look of innocence on the 'bot's face was ridiculously endearing. Maybe it thought he had won.  
"He's...he's really hurt. Sick. I don't think he even wants to get better."  
When GIR was momentarily obediant, its eyes glowed a deep red and it carried itself with military efficiency. When it was confused, its head exploded, to regrow mysteriously sometime later. But it had never been sad, had never felt the weight or pain of the world, never entertained the idea that things might not be the same tomorrow. If not better.  
Its eyes dimmed slightly, now. They became an even paler blue, almost greyish in appearance, as it eyed Dib with a childlike disbelief. "Is he gonna be ok?"  
"That's up to him. I've been doing all I can, GIR, I promise."  
The robot sniffled a bit, sadness of the genuine sort, as opposed to a melancholy warble over a cupcake it had devoured a few moments before.  
"I've missed Master! I don't want him to be hurt!"  
"I know exactly what you mean, believe me," Dib said, still fascinated at the workings of this artifically unintelligent being. "...Would you like to come see him?"  
"WHEEE!" The look of sudden bliss was adorable. Suddenly, Dib found himself glomped around the waist, squeezed tightly.  
"You're gonna bring Master back to me! I liiiike YOU!"  
  
A few moments later, Dib chuckled as he lead a green dog, squeaking as it walked, out the door. How often had he seen such genuine caring in his lifetime? With the father and sister he had, with the opinions of the others at Skool...almost never.  
Perhaps GIR was worth much more than what it seemed.  
  


*~*~*  


  
"Here. Drink it."  
Zim had grown used to the broth by now, almost enjoyed the sustenance, and he drank it greedily. He was growing stronger with the passing days, much more than he had expected. Under the care of Dib, of all people.  
"You know," Gaz said thoughtfully. "Dib's using vitamins and supplements that Dad developed. Stealing stuff out of the lab. That's how your fever broke so quickly. It's...a lot of trouble, to get those and find a way Dad doesn't notice."  
"I'm in his debt," Zim murmured, as he drained the last of the soup. "He's saved my life. Humiliating."  
The purple-haired goth looked almost amused. "You owe a human your life. Well, if there's a chance the Irkens would ever want you back, they certainly don't now."  
Zim searched for a retort, a way to deny it, or avoid it. But the sting of the remark had hit him, hard. "Don't you think I know that?"   
"Well, at least you admit it, now."  
She was right, he noted, his hands balling into fists in frustration. He could almost feel the last time he was so tense, as if it were happening again: the raindrops pelting on his back, the sizzle and pop against his skin, and the pain, like a fire exploding across every minute surface of his skin, as he allowed the pain because he craved it.   
"I mean, Dib thought you'd never come right out and say it. But he knows. That's why, isn't it?"  
The sudden flashbacks were not uncommon, the memory often surging stronger than a flood, overtaking him with the burning waters of hatred and abandonment. And suddenly, there were the stars, boundless and endless and no longer full of possibilities for conquest, but terrifying. They held so much that he couldn't understand, so many worlds that were all at once harsh, and unfriendly, and beautiful, and ridiculous, all at once, and he had power over none of them.  
"My brother cares about you, Zim. He always has."  
And one thing the flashes of memory had never done before was stopped. They did now.  
"Always?"  
"You're his reason to live. And he's yours, isn't he? Because when that reason faded, he had to save you. Nobody else could have done it."  
"But I don't have anything left anymore..." And Zim put two and two together. "And neither does he."  
"He's living to keep you alive, now. But you're getting better, Zim. What will he do when you're ok again? What will *you* do?" Gaz had maintained her distance up until now, but she approached the bed suddenly, looking down at him as she spoke. There was a sincerity to her voice that he'd never heard before, and he wondered if Dib knew about this side of her.   
"I love him. I don't like him most of the time, but I love him; he's my brother, I have to. And I know he needs something, because I've lived with Dad too, all my life. I need the same thing, so I live in my Game Slave, until I can get the hell out of this place. I don't deny it. But you..."  
She chuckled, mouth twisting into a smirk at the irony. "I think I'm almost jealous. And I'm pissed. Because it could be so easy. He really cares about all this paranormal stuff, you know? About there being...something *more* out there. And you could-"  
The click of the door silenced her. A familiar squeeking noise approached the door, trying its best to remain silent before launching itself onto the and squeezing Zim so tightly that the alien gasped for air, and the robot's disguise began to tear and fall off.  
And Dib stood in the doorway, looking at the scene with undisguised amusement, and pondering the strange warmth that was beginning to creep into his heart.  
  


Chapter Four: You Complete Me  
  


_Double update! n_n This'll be the very last chapter, and a lot shorter than the last few, but I hope you like it anyway. ::grins:: Coming soon, look out for an actual Dib/Zim fic, as well as a little D/Z poem I wrote not too long ago. Thanks again to Lyn for letting me write a sequel to her awesome fic!  
  
_"Now ain't it good to know that you've got a friend  
When people can be so cold?  
They'll hurt you, they'll desert you,  
They'll take your soul if you let them...  
Oh now, but don't you let them.  
  
You just call out my name  
And you know, wherever I am,  
I'll come running to see you again.  
Winter, spring, summer, or fall,  
All you have to do is call  
And I'll be there;  
You've got a friend." - "You've Got A Friend", James Taylor and Carol King_  
  
_ After Zim's talk with Gaz, and GIR's arrival, the alien's recovery was surprisingly quick. The days seemed to fly by, with the little robot by his side chattering away, and both Dib and Gaz coming to talk to him at least once a day.   
The brother and sister themselves were united under a common purpose, Gaz actually devoting some of her time to diverting their already absent-minded father (although, with his obliviousness, there were few close calls). Their words to each other were civil, and at times even more than that.   
Dib had learned to ignore the children at Skool, but now he tuned them out entirely. He focused on his work, when there was any, and the rest of the time...his mind was back at his home, with his sister. With GIR. With Zim.  
And he wondered what he had suddenly gained, that he had been missing for so long.  
  


*~*~*  
  


He arrived home one afternoon, to see a violet-haired goth, a lime green dog, and an alien minus disguise eating pizza. GIR's slice was half-splattered on his face. Zim, although he'd managed to swallow most of his own, and seemed to be enjoying it, was eyeing the human confection with suspicion.  
Then he noticed Dib was home, and looked up at him with serious eyes. "We need to talk."  


  
*~*~*  
  


Two boys, one with a rather odd-looking pompadour and green skin with no ears, walked down the street, sharing an umbrella as though the slight spring drizzle were a raging monsoon.   
"Where do you think you'll go now?" Dib asked, making sure to keep in step with the alien to cover them both.  
"I don't know. That's my problem." Zim's eyes turned to glance further down the street, wondering how far it was to his base-to his technology, and his mockery of normalcy, and all the thoughts of duty it would bring.   
"I've...been happy, lately," Dib murmured. "I've never really been happy before. That robot of yours-you're lucky, Zim. He loves you to death, and that wouldn't stop if you left him to rust. That's a precious thing...I wish I had someone like that."  
Zim smiled, musing over the past few days. "He likes you. And Gaz. She gives him pizza."  
"I don't think I've ever seen her share that stuff before. She's like a fanatic." As they exchanged a chuckle, Zim remembered something.  
"Dib...Gaz told me something, once. That you both needed something, and that for you...I was the key to giving it."  
"Don't pay any attention to her," Dib said dismissively. "She thinks we're both idiots, for reasons completely unknown."  
"Not completely."  
They exchanged glances, and smiles. "Well, no," Dib admitted. "Not completely. But...how could she possibly know what I need, anyway? With her eyes stuck on that Game Slave all the time."  
"What *do* you need?"  
The question caught him by surprise, but Dib turned to glance at the alien, whos position in his life had changed so dramatically, and somehow knew exactly what to say.  
"I need to know there's something out there, something more than what mankind knows. On Earth, or maybe on another world, other worlds, worlds that are darker than this one. And better than this one. Smarter or stupider, different outlooks, or the same one and they've just done better than us. Or worse. I need to know that...there's *more* than this. And to learn as much about it as I can. But somehow, I can't leave here, either. I haven't seen much to redeem mankind, but I still can't help wanting to protect it. That's why I was against you for so long."  
Zim couldn't help but smile. "You're babbling, Dib."  
"I know, but I-" And suddenly, he froze for a moment, before turning to Zim with eager eyes. "Are you happy? Right now?"  
"These past few days, I've been happy. It's a very strange feeling. I didn't think it could come from something other than conquest."  
"Perfect. Fantastic."  
A pause, and what the boy was implying suddenly came to Zim. "Wouldn't your father notice something?"  
"*My* father? It'd take him a week to notice I was dead. Gaz and I hid you perfectly so far, right?"  
"GIR would be happy. Very happy." Hope was beginning to show in the Irken's eyes. A reason to live again.  
"Except if you weren't. Would you be?"  
"This planet...grows on me." Zim thought for a moment, pondering the blue and green ball he had made a home for almost a year now. "But I'd like to know its ways. It's so hard to comprehend, sometimes, the workings of this place."  
"I could teach you," Dib said eagerly, and he suddenly noticed that they had turned around, and started heading for home. "I could teach you anything you want to know! And maybe even what you don't learn in books. Ever hear of Bigfoot, for example?"  
"What kind of stinkbeast invention is a Bigfoot?"  
"It's really cool! It's all about missing links, and it lurks around in the forest scaring people and eating things. And it used *my* beltsander!" Dib grinned proudly, before turning back to Zim with another thought. "How many planets with intelligent life are there, that you know of?"  
"The Irken Empire stands over a thousand planets strong, and many others are marked for conquest. And then there are our allies-" A faint twinge of past loyalty, to an unfeeling race that no longer wanted him, sparked in Zim. "You wouldn't use this against our planet? There's no way this information could ever-"  
"We can't even reach light speed, Zim."   
A pause, and the little alien cackled. "Inferior technologies of children! You must be thousands of years behind us! It's no wonder the Tallest didn't want this planet!"  
"Hey! Why'd you have so much trouble, then?"  
"You said it yourself, *Dib*! You're a rare breed. Only your efforts impeeded me."  
"And if you ever do anything with the information I give you, I'll-"  
"You'll what?"  
They had reached the house. And with that realization, they turned to each other and began to laugh.  
And then, an ancient bravado abandoned, Zim spoke with the utmost sincerity. "I'll take you with me, Dib. You and Gaz. Someday, I'll take GIR and the two of you away from here, and I'll show you incredible things. Beautiful things, beyond your imagination." He chuckled, realizing something. "And if I had found you on some other planet, chances are Earth would be one of the places on our list."  
"You're a fascinating person, Zim. I should write a book on you, someday." Dib smirked, pondering science fiction novels and movie deals. "Or a cartoon, or something. Gaz could draw it. Us chasing each other around for a half hour time block, it's like Looney Tunes with a sci-fi twist."  
"What?"  
"I'll explain later. Let's draw up plans for a lab, so we can fit all your technology in one place-you've *got* to show me how to use that stuff..."  
Gaz looked up only briefly from her pizza, as a pair of boys barged into the Membrane home, gave a quick wave hello, and instantly bolted up to Dib's room.   
She faintly recalled bitterly spoken words, frustrated with a life of misery that could all be ended so quickly, with a simple motion. Maybe they weren't as stupid as she'd thought.   
_ "Maybe it's another conspiracy...maybe you're the one who can't play this game right, after all."  
"Game?! Gaz, this is *serious*, it's-"  
"The fate of mankind. The future of the world."  
_ They figured it out. This was what she had needed, too; a little bit of unstifled joy, of counterproductive madness, and of brotherhood. She had seen it in Dib's eyes a few days ago, when he brought GIR home; he had known it in everything but name. A family.  
_ "If you ask me, it's a stupid fight, anyway. What kind of a game makes you lose when you win? Losers. Both of you."_  
"A winner is you," she whispered, and contentment showed in the rarely-seen smile on her face.


End file.
